


what if i'm far from home?

by SkyGem



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, Angst, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, except the comfort is gonna be kind of a long time coming
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-14
Updated: 2020-12-15
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:00:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27003943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkyGem/pseuds/SkyGem
Summary: Sabo and Ace are eight, when they bump into a feisty little runaway from High Town.Of course, they don't know then that that's where he's from.All they know is that he's a scrawny, half-feral little thing who can barely look after himself. He's clumsy and naive, innocent in the way that shows he's new to life in Grey Terminal.(Or, alternatively, that ASL brothers role reversal AU no one asked for.)
Relationships: Monkey D. Luffy & Portgas D. Ace & Sabo, Portgas D. Ace & Sabo
Comments: 71
Kudos: 334





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hey thanks for clicking on this fic, and I hope you enjoy it!
> 
> A huge thanks to user soccersarah01 for helping me work out some plot problems in this and for listening to me ramble about it for like an hour! Please be sure to check out her work, it's phenomenal!

Sabo and Ace are eight, when they bump into a feisty little runaway from High Town.

Of course, they don't _know_ then that that's where he's from.

All they know is that he's a scrawny, half-feral little thing who can barely look after himself. He's clumsy and naive, innocent in the way that shows he's new to life in Grey Terminal.

He hides along the edges of the terminal, shying away from anyone who gets too close, and watching everything with a careful eye.

Sabo would like to tell you that he knew, from the moment he saw the brat, that he would be something special.

But Sabo's lying through his crooked teeth, because the first time they lay eyes on him, their eyes slide right past him and onto more interesting things. There's no earth-shattering realization that this is their missing piece, the precious little brother that they would move mountains for.

No, there's just Ace and his brother Sabo, picking their way through the trash heap, searching for anything useful they can use to repair their treehouse, which had been damaged in the last storm. And there's a little boy who looks just like any other little boy in this place, watching them from several feet away with curiosity in his hungry eyes.

He's inching slowly closer to them, and though Sabo knows he's probably harmless, he still shoots a warning look at Ace, who returns it with a shrug and a tilt of the head, a silent 'okay.'

They can find supplies some other time - they're not looking for some kid to try and pity-trip them into helping him with food or whatever else he needs.

So as one, the two brothers turn and dash off into the forest.

There's a little "oh!" of surprise, and then seconds later the sound of pursuit as the kid tries to follow them into the forest.

It's a stupid move - Ace and Sabo have grown up on this mountain, and know it like the back of their hands. They take a long, circuitous route back to their treehouse, managing to lose the kid within the first five minutes.

They forget about the kid almost immediately, sure that that's the end of it.

But when they return to Grey Terminal the next day, there the brat is again, watching them with those big brown eyes of his.

Ace refuses to leave without getting any repair supplies this time, so the two of them studiously ignore the boy for the better part of an hour, before getting frustrated and deciding to return home.

This time, they're loaded down with several planks of wood, so it takes them a good twenty minutes to finally shake the kid off their tail.

The third time, when they return to Grey Terminal and the kid comes scampering up to them as soon as he sees them, Ace finally loses his temper.

"What the hell do you want from us, you little brat?" he demands as soon as the child comes to a stop in front of them.

At the words, the boy's face immediately lights up with a beaming smile, as if Ace had greeted him with warm words and a friendly hug, instead of the exasperation he had actually used.

"Oh, hello, my name is Luffy!" he says, all but tripping over himself in his excitement to introduce himself. "It is a pleasure to meet you!"

"Hah?" asks Ace. "What the hell kind of language is that? Where do you think you are, brat? High town?"

Luffy's eyes go wide, and then after a few seconds of thought, he tries again.

"I'm Luffy! Who the hell are ya? Ya bastards?"

"The hell!?" Ace demands, taking a few dangerous steps forward.

Sabo stops him before he can punch the kid.

"Ace, stop picking fights with a child!" he admonishes, whacking his brother upside the head.

"But Sabo!" Ace whines.

"You're the one that told him to be less polite," Sabo tells him with an unimpressed expression. Then, turning to Luffy, he says, "You still haven't answer our question. What do you want from us?"

The boy perks up again. "Oh, well, I see you two around the Grey Terminal all the time, and you two are always by yourself, so I thought you don't have any adults! And I don't have any adults either! So I thought we could be friends! Because I don't have any friends and you two only have each other and the more friends you have the better, right?"

Ace scoffs.

"We're not looking for any new friends, brat," he tells him. "We're alone because that's the way we like it. The only people we need is each other."

Sabo tries to ignore the small thrill of pleasure he feels at Ace's words. His brother isn't really one to show affection very often, so in the rare moments that he does, it's always a nice feeling.

He's always felt vaguely jealous of the other little boys and girls in Edge Town, and even the ones in Grey Terminal. They might be just as poor as him and Ace, but at least they have parents to call their own.

And sometimes it's nice to be reminded that even if he doesn't have parents himself, at least he has Ace. He has Ace to pick fights for him and watch his back. He has Ace to share his life with.

But this little boy, this Luffy...he doesn't even have that.

Sabo feels a pang in his heart for the kid, who's so small he can't be any older than four or five. Life in Gray Terminal is cruel, especially for one so small.

Luffy beams brightly at them, ignorant of Sabo's pity.

"But everyone likes having friends, right? I promise I won't get in your way or anything so please let me come with you two! I've heard you say you both want to be pirates, right? Me too! I'm going to be king of the pirates one day and-"

" _Enough_!" Ace interrupts. "I don't care what you want to be, kid. It has nothing to do with us. Just leave us the hell alone, or we're gonna make you regret it."

"Ace, maybe we-"

"No," Ace says firmly before Sabo can get more than a word out. "You know how dangerous our life is, Sabo. You really want to have to look out for a useless brat like him while we're hunting for our dinner? He'd be taken down by the first crocodile we came across."

"I guess..." Sabo says hesitantly, unable to argue the truth of Ace's words.

Ace turns to leave without another word, and Sabo turns to follow the boy hesitantly.

In the split second before he turns around, he catches Luffy's goofy smile slip off his face to be replaced by a gnawing loneliness.

It's almost enough to make him stop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a bit short, but thanks so much for reading this far and please leave a comment letting me know what you thought! 
> 
> Future chapters should be a lot longer than this since this is mainly just a set-up.


	2. Chapter 2

It happens like this.

Ace makes the _stupid, stupid_ mistake of stealing from Bluejam's men.

The pirate's lackies just happen to catch up to them while Ace is busy tying Luffy to a tree, and in their haste to get away before Porchemy can catch them, they forget to free Luffy.

And the next thing they know, Porchemy is dragging off the only soul on Earth who has any idea where the boys keep their pirate fund.

Ace and Sabo lock gazes, a wordless conversation flowing between them, and as soon as the pirates are out of sight, they both dash off in the direction of their hoard.

They work fast, desperate to save as much of their treasure as they can before the little brat finally gives in to the pain and squeals on them.

As he works, Ace tries to banish the image of Luffy getting carried off by Porchemy from his mind.

He stubbornly blocks out thoughts of how small the boy had looked, clutched in the man's massive (in comparison) hands.

He stubbornly does not think about the rumours he's heard around the Grey Terminal about Porchemy, about how the man never shows mercy to anyone, not even children.

Ace is busy stuffing the last of their treasure into their new hiding place, still blocking out any thoughts of guilt, when Sabo comes running up, screaming his name at the top of his lungs.

The younger boy is out of breath, and shaking almost imperceptibly. His eyes are wide with a terror that has Ace's hackles rising, and he immediately drops down to his brother's side.

"What's wrong?" he demands. "Did they come back? Did they hurt you?"

Sabo shakes his head and opens his mouth to talk, but no words come out for a second.

His breath hitches as he chokes on a sob.

"T-they never came!" he says. "Luffy...he never talked!"

Ace stares blankly at his brother, his mind refusing to comprehend.

"Wh-what?" he demands. Then, before Sabo can say another word, he curses savagely under his breath, and dashes off in the direction of Porchemy's hideout.

As he runs, all the guilt that he had been pushing away all this time comes rising up his throat like bile.

His mind flashes to Luffy as he had last seen him; so tiny, with that innocent, beaming smile of his.

Ace prays to every god he doesn't believe in that the boy will still be alive by the time they get to him.

He prays he has a chance to make things right to the child who had never wanted anything from him but his attention.

When they finally break through the doors of the hideout, he fears for a moment that his prayers have gone unanswered.

Luffy is hanging from the ceiling by a rope tied around his midsection, limp in a way that sends a wave of pure fear through Ace's body before he notices the slight rise and fall of his chest that shows he's breathing.

He's absolutely drenched in blood, and every one of his limbs sticks out at unnatural angles, snapped in ways that almost make Ace throw up at how gruesome they look. The boy is either unconscious, or else doesn't have the energy to even lift his head to look up at them.

Together, Ace and Sabo make quick work of the pirates around them, before cutting the rope that holds Luffy suspended and lowering him to the floor as gently as they possibly can.

He flinches with every small movement, whimpering in pain as Sabo tries to hold him in the way that causes him the least discomfort. They can't after to take too much time though because the pirates are already starting to get up, so with Ace's help, Sabo gets Luffy on his back and is about to dash off when he notices that his brother still hasn't moved.

"ACE!" Sabo screams as he watches his brother take a fighting stance. "What the hell do you think you're doing? Let's go!"

"You go ahead," he tells Sabo, not even looking in his direction. "I'll make sure they don't follow us. Once I face off against an enemy, I never run away."

"Ace, please," Sabo pleads with him. "We can lose them in the forest. You know I can't make it back without you, not with Luffy on my back. And if we don't get him some medical treatment soon, he could _die_!"

Ace flinches, looking conflicted, and holds his stance for another long few seconds, before all the fight finally drains out of him and he turns back towards Sabo, ushering him off ahead of him.

Sabo's right, in the end.

They manage to lose the pirates in the forest rather quickly, thanks to the growing darkness as night falls.

They stop once or twice on their way back to the bandits' base, in order to pass Luffy off between themselves if one of them gets too tired to keep carrying him. They still end up making it back to the Dadan Family hideout in record time.

As the rundown old building comes into view, Ace chokes on the wave of relief that washes over him, not noticing that he's already yelling for help until he hears Sabo echoing his words desperately.

Within seconds, Dadan is at the door with a shotgun in hand, her face thunderous at the sound of her boys in distress.

"What's going on?" she demands when she doesn't see any apparent enemies. "Where the hell have you two been, huh?"

"Dadan, please, you have to help Luffy!" Sabo says instead of answering her questions as the two of them come to a stop in front of her. "He's hurt really badly!"

"What the hell is a Luffy?" she demands, her eyes darting over to her other brat, and finally noticing the had of dark hair poking out over Ace's shoulder, and the small, misshapen limbs wrapped around his torso.

She gets closer to Ace, to inspect the child, and all the blood drains out of her face as she sees just how badly beaten he is.

She takes a mental stock of the medical supplies they have in their hideout, quickly coming to the conclusion that they won't be able to treat the boy adequately. He needs a real doctor, and fast.

She holds out her arms.

"Give the brat here," she tells Ace gruffly. "We can't treat him properly here. I will bring him down the mountain to Windmill village as safely as I can without making his injuries worse, but I need you and Sabo to go on ahead and let the doctor know to expect us."

Ace hesitates for a second longer, as if not wanting to let go of his precious cargo, before stepping forward and turning his back so that Dadan can gently lift the child into her arms.

Now that she's holding him, she can see he's even smaller than she had thought, and so beaten up that she can hardly believe he's still alive.

Her heart clenches painfully.

She's had to deal with her fair share of childhood injuries ever since Garp had foisted his two grandsons upon her, but never anything even remotely close to this.

Ace is looking up at her with wide eyes, so much more vulnerable than he would normally ever let anyone see him, and she'll be damned if she lets her boy down.

She glares back down at him.

"Well, brat?" she asks. "What the hell are you still doing here? Hurry up and get on your way to Windmill Village! You know the way, don't you?"

"O-of course!" Ace growls right back at her, turning and grabbing his brother's arm, who looks to be on the verge of collapse. He stares up at Dadan for a long second, with a pleading expression that she's sure will be haunting her dreams for months, before the two of them turn and run off in unison.

She watches the two boys disappear back into the forest, this time in the direction of Windmill village, before turning back to the hideout and calling for Dogra and Magra to come help her.

* * *

The first inkling Makino has that not everything is right in her little town is when she takes her usual trip down to the market to buy supplies for her bar.

The town is quiet, eerily so, with groups of people gathered in twos threes on the streets, talking quietly to each other.

They all look rather upset, and it isn't until she stops by the fish stall that she finally gets an explanation.

"I would have thought you, of all people, would know the most about what is going on," Chicken tells her, eyebrows raised in surprise. "Given how fond you are of those boys of Garp's."

Makino's eyes widen, and she feels a flare of worry. "Sabo and Ace?" she asks. "Has something happened to them?"

Chicken shakes her head. "Those two are fine, don't you worry. But as far as I heard, they came pounding on the mayor's door last night, saying that a friend of theirs had been hurt, and that they needed someone to help him. The Doctor's been in surgery all morning and hasn't been seeing anyone else."

Makino lifts a hand to her mouth in horror.

"Is the child alright?" she asks. "And what about Ace and Sabo, are they still here?"

Unfortunately, Chicken doesn't know much else about the situation, and neither does anyone else in town. So Makino resolves to swing by the clinic as soon as she's taken her groceries back to her bar, to see if there's anything she can do to help.

Almost as soon as she walks through the doors of the clinic, her eyes fall on two young boys slumped in the chairs in the waiting room, collapsed against each other and sleeping deeply, dead to the world.

Their clothes are dirty and torn, hair a rat's nest of tangles and thin scratches all down their arms, but overall they don't seem to have any major injuries. A part of her relaxes to see that neither of them are badly injured.

"Makino?" asks a familiar voice, surprised, and she looks towards its source to see Dadan standing in the hallway, watching her through tired eyes.

"Dadan!" she calls, rushing forward to greet the older woman. "Is everything alright? What on Earth are you all doing down here in the village?"

The bandit sighs, darting her eyes back in the direction she had come, before fixing her gaze on Makino.

"It seems the boys got mixed up in something more dangerous they could handle. A friend of theirs got kidnapped and tortured by a punch of pirates, to the brink of death."

Makino gasps, horror clawing its ways through her. "Is he alright?" she asks.

Dadan sighs exhaustedly, and runs a hand through her hair. "The doc says his condition has stabilized," she explains. "But we're not out of the woods yet. Even in the best case scenario, it'll be a while before the kid is fully healed."

"I-is there anything I can do to help?" Makino asks, turning her eyes on the two boys sleeping in the corner. She doesn't get to see them as often as she'd like, given they live up on Mt Colubo, but she had visited them several times over the years to bring them clothes and toys, and had found herself growing rather fond of them as time had passed.

It hurts her, to think of the pain they must be in, as well as the friend they had brought here to save.

Dadan seems to consider her question for a moment.

"The two of them refuse to go back to Mt Colubo until they're sure their friend is better," she says gruffly. "And I have to stay here with the other brat in case anything happens, so I can't look after them. Could you take them back to your place, Makino? Give them a bed to sleep in and something to eat?"

"O-of course!" Makino answers her, nodding resolutely. "Don't you worry, Dadan-san! We'll get through this together! And I'll make sure your boys are well taken care of!"

Dadan's cheeks flush red with embarrassment at Makino's words, and she growls at the younger woman, "Who are you calling my boys, little girl? Those two are just little good-for-nothing burdens their grandfather forced me to look after! All they do is cause trouble for me! But if anything happens to them I'll be in trouble with Garp, so you better take good care of them, you hear? And keep a close eye on them! Especially that Ace! Sabo at least has some common sense to him, but Ace will be off setting a building on fire if you leave him to his own devices for too long. It's that damn Monkey blood in him, I tell you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey thanks so much for reading this far and please be sure to leave me a comment down below letting me know what you thought! Good day and I'll see you next time!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick content warning for non-graphic descriptions of harm towards a young child. Please exercise caution when reading if that's something you're sensitive to!
> 
> If there's anything else y'all want me to give warnings for, please don't hesitate to let me know and I'll keep it in mind!

Shanks looks out across the bar, his gaze sweeping over his relaxed crewmates and hiding a soft grin behind his bottle of sake.

It's not often a crew as notorious as theirs gets to be so carefree, no matter which part of the world they're in.

If it's not the marines after them, it's bounty hunters or other pirates, or sometimes even terrified townspeople wanting them out of their home.

But this peaceful little village in the calmest of the four Blues is unique, in that way. The townspeople, though wary when their ship had first docked, have slowly warmed up over time, to the point that Shanks finds himself exchanging polite greetings and friendly small talk with the locals whenever he crosses paths with them.

It's been a month now, since his crew have started using the idyllic little Windmill village as a base in between occasional voyages to other islands, and even the lovely owner of the bar they spend most of their time at has been slowly letting her guard down.

She's still not entirely relaxed, Shanks can tell.

No matter how friendly their conversation, no matter how respectfully Shanks and his crewmates make sure to speak to her, there's always a faint tension to her shoulders. She always has one ear turned towards the doorway behind the bar, which he suspects leads to her living quarters (towards a possible exit in case things get dangerous, Shanks suspects).

He feels bad, that he and his men put her so ill at ease, especially given how much time they spend in her establishment. He puts in a little extra effort to make her comfortable around him.

(And if her bright laughter makes something warm flutter in his stomach, no one else needs to know about that.)

Then, one day, there's the sound of a faint thump from the direction of Makino's living quarters, and she immediately goes rigid.

Smiling apologetically at Shanks, whom she'd been talking to until that point, Makino goes running in the direction of the sound.

Puzzled, Shanks turns to share a glance with Ben, who's looking just as baffled as he is.

"Makino-san doesn't have a family, does she?" Ben asks, and Shanks shakes his head, mystified.

"She hasn't mentioned one until now," he says. None of their crewmates seem to have noticed Makino's uncharacteristic behaviour - it's not rare for her to occasionally disappear into the back for a few minutes at a time.

In fact, now that Shanks thinks on it, he realizes that she disappears back there more often than he would think necessary.

As he continues drinking and exchanging conversation with his men, he keeps an eye out for Makino's return. Which is why, a few minutes later, he's the first one to notice the sound of her returning footsteps, slow and almost hesitant.

He turns to greet her and ask if everything is quite alright, only to freeze upon seeing her.

She has a child on her hip.

He's a tiny thing, all scrawny limbs and messy black hair.

White-knuckled fists clutch tightly at the fabric of Makino's shirt, and mistrustful brown eyes stare right into Shanks' soul.

He can't be much more than six, Shanks is horrified to realize.

And yet, both his arms and legs are wrapped in tight bandages. There are jagged scars zigzagging across the skin of his face, still pink and shiny - newly healed.

Shanks lifts his gaze to Makino's, and she's smiling bravely back at him, looking more nervous than she has since his crew first came to Windmill village, and Shanks realizes that this is a test of trust.

This boy, whoever he is to her, is clearly very dear, and very vulnerable.

The very fact that Makino has chosen to let them know about him...Shanks is humbled.

He can hear the room grow quieter as more of his crewmates notice Makino and the little one.

Shanks smiles softly, makes himself as nonthreatening as possible.

"Heya there, kiddo," he greets. "What's your name?"

The boy shrinks back into Makino's arm, grip tightening on her shirt. He looks up at her, gaze searching, and Makino nods slightly in encouragement.

Taking courage from this, the boy makes an effort to meet Shanks' gaze. "Hello, my name is Luffy," he says so quietly, Shanks can barely hear him. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Shanks tries not to let his surprise show at how well-spoken the boy is.

"It's nice to meet you too, Luffy. My name is Shanks," he introduces himself. "And all these other guys here are my crew."

"Crew?" asks Luffy, and Shanks notices Makino go stiff, her eyes widening in alarm. She shakes her head just slightly at him when he catches her gaze, urging Shanks not to say anymore, but the damage has been done. Luffy looks back and forth between Makino and Shanks himself. "Are...are they pirates?" he asks Makino, his tiny frame trembling as he curls closer to her.

Makino hesitates for a second before answering. "They are," she finally says, using one hand to uncurl Luffy's fist from her shirt, and rubbing a soothing thumb across the back of his hand. "But they're friends. They're not going to hurt you."

"Promise?" asks Luffy, eyes so wide and trusting as they look up at Makino like she has all the answers in the world. He holds his pinkie up to her, outstretched, and she immediately links her pinkie with his.

"Promise."

Luffy grins, wide and beaming, and turns to look at Shanks expectantly.

It takes Shanks longer than he would like to admit to realize what the kid wants.

Smiling in exasperation, he leans forward over the bar, and touches his pinkie to Makino's and Luffy's. "Promise," he says.

His crew erupt into cheers and good-natured ribbing, and after a split second of anxiety, Luffy grins around at them.

As Shanks pulls back to settle back down on his bar stool, Luffy leans out of Makino's arms and scrambles over the bartop so that he can drop onto the stool next to the captain. Makino lets him go without much fuss, but honestly, the whole affair has Shanks hovering worriedly over the child, hoping he doesn't fall and injure himself more than he already is.

But he's fine, and within seconds, he's sitting right way up and swinging his feet freely below him.

"Makino-san! May I have some food please?" he asks, drumming his hands impatiently on the table despite his polite words.

"Of course," Makino answers, ruffling his hair affectionately before turning to prepare the food for him.

Luffy giggles, then turns a shy grin on Shanks.

Shanks knows from that moment that if he's not careful, he's going to find himself wrapped around the kid's tiny finger.

* * *

Shanks isn't careful.

After that fateful first meeting, whenever the Red Hair Pirates stop by Makino's bar, Luffy comes toddling slowly down the stairs to greet them.

He's not allowed to walk a lot yet, he tells them on that first day - he had broken both his legs, and though they're mostly healed by now, he still has strict orders from the doctor not to run around too much, lest he injure his newly healed bones once again.

Shanks bites back his questions of just how a six-year-old had managed to break both legs in a peaceful little place like Windmill Village (and that's not even counting all the other injuries littered across his body).

Despite how much Luffy likes to chatter to anyone around him who's willing to lend even half an ear, he almost never actually talks about himself. Instead, he usually prefers to ask about their adventures, about the islands they've been to and the people they've met.

He's the only person they've met, so far, who can sit quietly through Yasopp's ramblings about his beautiful wife, and his adorable son, who's about Luffy's age.

Luffy listens raptly, eyes sparkling with interest, and when Yasopp finally pauses to take a breath, he giggles quietly.

"He sounds really nice," he says. "I want to meet him one day..."

Yasopp barks out a laugh. "He's a good kid, but I wouldn't say he's especially nice. Bit of an asshole-"

"Yasopp! Language!" three different men from the tables around them chorus. ( _Looking at them, one would be hard-pressed to believe they were some of the most notorious pirates on the seas, this pack of mother hens, Shanks thinks as he snickers into his ale and exchanges an amused glance with Makino._ )

"-but then, most kids your age are," Yasopp continues, unfazed by his crewmates' outburst. He pauses, then amends, "Except you, of course. You're freakishly well-behaved. Why don't you just learn to relax a little, kid? No one here bites."

The grin falls from Luffy's face then, and he stops swinging his feet back and forth the way he had been. His face is suddenly somber, and Yasopp wonders at the change in his demeanor.

Luffy leans forward and pats him on the hand comfortingly, in a soothing gesture that Yasopp recognizes from how often Makino uses it on Luffy himself.

"I know you won't hurt me," Luffy tells him, so earnestly it breaks Yasopp's heart. "You're good pirates. Not like Bluejam's crew."

Yasopp freezes, his mind filling with static at the implication behind those words.

The temperature in the room drops a couple of degrees as Shanks turns away from his conversation with Makino to smile down at Luffy and asks, oh so innocently, "Bluejam's crew?"

Luffy looks up at him with that still somber expression on his face. Neither he nor Makino seem to feel the sudden oppressive weight of Shanks' haki, but his men surely do, and each of them have turned their wary attention on the conversation.

"They wanted to know where my friends were keeping their treasure," Luffy explains. "So they took me to their secret hideout. And this biiiiiig man named Porchemy tied me up and hit me a lot to make me tell them where the treasure was hidden. But I was strong! I didn't tell them _anything_!"

At the last words, Luffy's entire face lights up with pride.

"And then and then! Ace and Sabo came to save me!" he tells them with excitement. "They were so _cool_! They took me their mom, and she brought me here so the doctor could help me! And Makino's been taking care of me since then and she's _so_ nice! She makes the best food EVER and she lets me sleep in her bed when I have nightmares and she doesn't get mad at me when I forget to say please and thank you sometimes! And she bought me lots of comfy new clothes, and she plays with me! Makino's the _best_!"

He turns to look at the woman in question as he says this, beaming smile quickly morphing into a distressed expression when he notices the tears rolling down her face.

"Oh no! Are you okay, Makino?" he asks, scrambling up over the bartop again and climbing into her arms. He uses pudgy fingers to wipe her tears away, and pats her cheek gently. "There, there. Everything is okay now. How can I help?"

Makino lets out a watery laugh, and raises her hand to rest on Luffy's own smaller one.

"Just keep being you," she tells him, kissing him gently on the forehead. "That's more than enough."

Luffy's expression is confused, but he smiles sweetly back at Makino.

With his attention taken by his foster mother, he doesn't notice the thunderous expression on Shanks' face, or the horror on the other Red Hair pirates.

Shanks quickly reins in his temper, not wanting to scare the kid and lose the hard-won trust and comfort they've managed to build with him.

"Hey, Luffy?" he asks.

Luffy turns to look at him questioningly, and by then, the rest of the Red Hair pirates have managed to get their emotions under control too.

"Do you know where this Bluejam's crew is docked?"

Luffy shrugs. "There's a hidden cove, around the side of Dawn island closer to Goa's capital," he explains. "I think they were docked there, but they might have left."

Shanks nods, making sure he doesn't let any of his bloodlust shine through, and leans forward to pat Luffy affectionately on the head.

He's pleased when the boy leans into the contact, smiling brightly.

"You know," he says. "I only just remembered something very important my crew and I have to do."

"Whaaaaat?" Luffy demands, looking distraught. "But! You said you'd be here for a few days this time!"

"I know, I'm sorry, anchor," Shanks apologizes. "But I promise this journey won't take long. We'll be back before you know it, and we'll bring lots of souvenirs back for you, okay?"

This seems to mollify Luffy a bit, and he sits back with a resigned huff.

Over his head, Makino stares at Shanks with burning eyes.

Shanks nods back at her, a silent promise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading and I hope you guys enjoyed! Please leave a comment below letting me know what y'all thought!


	4. Chapter 4

The Red Hair pirates return to Windmill village only three days after leaving to.... _deal with_ the Bluejam pirates. Most of that time, truthfully, had been spent getting the souvenirs that Shanks had promised Luffy, which meant having to enter the capital of the Goa Kingdom.

They had stuck mostly to Edge Town, not wanting to get any closer to the awful posturing and arrogance of the nobles in High Town, and despite the supposed lawlessness of the area, the hardest part for Shanks had been keeping his men from causing any scenes. It wouldn't do to let the know that a yonkou's crew was on this little island. 

They make it back to Windmill village without any difficulties, thankfully, and when their ship comes within view of the docks, Shanks is shocked to see a familiar tiny form waiting for their arrival. Bandaged arms wave excitedly as he jumps up and down in place, and Shanks chuckles fondly.

It's a heartwarming sight, to be sure, but there's also a part of him that worries for the brat, since this is the first time he's seen Luffy without either Makino or some other adult accompanying him.

He worriedly scans the horizon, and after a few seconds, spots two slightly larger forms not too far down the beach, heads turned in Luffy's direction. 

Benn snickers when he sees the way the tension in Shanks' shoulder immediately drains out at the sight of Luffy's two escorts.

"You're the biggest mother hen out of all of us, captain," his first mate teases, elbowing him in the ribs. "You're never allowed to make fun of us again."

Shanks rolls his eyes, but doesn't rise to the bait. "Do you think those are the friends he mentioned the other day? What were their names again?"

"Ace and Sabo," Benn responds, voice slightly troubled. They're close enough to make out features now, and his eyes are fixed firmly on the two new boys, taking in every small detail of their faces.

"Something wrong?" asks Shanks, picking up on his unease.

Benn shakes his head. "Not sure," he answers. "It's just...something about those kids seems strangely familiar. Can't figure it out for the life of me though."

Shanks responds with a hum of acknowledgement to show he's heard, but his attention is mostly focused on Luffy. They're close enough to exchange words before long, so he leans over the side of the ship and throws a wide grin in Luffy's direction. The other kids have come running over to him at by now and are standing protectively in front of the younger boy. 

The sight is kind of adorable.

"Hey there, anchor!" he calls in greeting. "Miss us?"

"Shanks!" Luffy replies excitedly as he dodges around his two friends. "That was fast! You guys were only gone for a few days!"

Shanks shrugs. "We didn't have to go very far," he says as his crew run around dropping anchor and getting ready to disembark.

"Did you bring souvenirs for me?"

Shanks gasps in mock offense. "Luffy!" he says in a chastising voice. "Is that all I am to you? Someone who buys presents? And here I thought my presence alone would be enough to make you happy!"

The two older boys exchange baffled glances, as if they don't know what to make of this silly pirate before them, and given what Shanks knows about their relationship to Luffy, he can understand why. It's all the more reason for him to win them over; Luffy hadn't been the only one who was traumatized by that incident with Porchemy, after all. 

Luffy doesn't fall for his bait, instead pouting and stomping his foot childishly. "But you promised!" he whines.

"Luffy," says the black-haired boy in a warning voice, sending him a pointed look.

Shanks chuckles fondly in response. He appreciates the thought, but makes sure to wave the boy's concerns away before Luffy can start to feel bad.

"I'm only kidding," he says reassuringly to the two boys, who are still eyeing him a bit suspiciously. "My crew will bring the souvenirs to Makino-san's bar, and you can get a look at them later. For now, though, how about a tour of the ship?"

Before Shanks has even finished speaking, Luffy lets out a shriek of pure excitement. As soon as the gangplank is lowered, he dashes onboard and throws himself at Shanks, who catches him without much difficulty.

Ace and Sabo (Shanks still doesn't know which is which), for their part, look alarmed as they dash onboard after the younger boy, calling his name.

"You're not supposed to get on a stranger's ship, Luffy!" shouts the blond one, the first to reach them.

"But Saboooo, he's not a stranger!" Luffy argues, turning to look back at the blond - Sabo - without letting go. "He's Shanks!"

The other boy, Ace if they're going by process of elimination, glares and folds his arms. "You've known him how long now? A month? And most of that time they were at sea too. That's definitely not long enough to say you know him well."

"But Makino-san trusts him!" Luffy argues.

Shanks does his best to stifle his smile.

"You're Ace, right?" he asks.

The boy immediately squares his shoulders and meets Shanks' eyes defiantly. "Monkey D Ace," he says as he crosses his arms. "And the other guy there is my brother, Sabo."

Shanks' brain immediately short circuits.

" _Monkey D.?"_ he asks incredulously, probably louder than strictly necessary. By now, about half of his crew had already wandered off in the direction of Makino's bar to continue the partying that had been cut short by their little quest a few days ago, but the ones that remain have stopped what they were doing and are staring at Ace incredulously.

"As in Garp the Fist?" demands one man disbelievingly.

Ace turns to glare at him.

"That's right," he declares, jutting out his chin in that stubborn expression that Shanks recognizes immediately from Garp, now that he knows what he's looking for. "He's my grandfather!"

Shanks looks back and forth between the two brothers, not seeing much family resemblance beyond the mannerisms they both seem to share. Perhaps Sabo takes after their mother?

He looks up to meet Benn's gaze for a second, eyebrows raised and thinking that this must be the source of the familiarity the man had noticed when they had first seen the boys.

"You two are gonna be strong marine soldiers like your grandpa someday, huh?" he asks with a grin, already sizing them up. They're not much to look at at the moment, but if they're anything like their grandfather, they're going to be a real pain in the ass someday.

He's surprised though when Sabo and Ace both look at him with disgust on their faces.

"Hell no!" the two of them immediately shout. "We're going to be co-captains of our own pirate crew!" Ace declares.

The words are so completely unexpected, no one responds for a long moment.

Then after a beat of silence, all the pirates in ear-shot burst into delighted laughter, causing Ace and Sabo look around them in confusion and anger.

"You two are pretty alright!" Shanks wheezes out through his laughter. "I guess I'll have to keep an eye out for your crew when you set sail, huh? Make sure to earn yourselves some decent bounties!"

"Of course we will!" Sabo says, aiming a defiant smirk in his direction. It's a wild, fierce thing, and there's an aching familiarity to it that has Shanks' breath catching in his throat. It's a familiarity that has nothing to do with the boy's grandfather, who Shanks' crew have something of a friendly enmity with. This familiarity belongs to a relationship softer and more nostalgic, with someone beloved.

"My bounty is going to be higher than _anyone's_!" Luffy declares from where he's still clinging to Shanks, snapping the man out of his thoughts. He tucks away his thoughts for now, promising to come back to them later, and instead smiles softly down at the kid who's managed to worm his way into the heart of his crew.

"Yeah?" he asks. "Are you gonna join Ace and Sabo's crew then?"

"Nu uh!" Luffy says, shaking his head emphatically. "I'm going to be the pirate king and that means I can't be on anyone else's crew! The pirate king has to be the captain! And Ace and Sabo say that if I want to join their crew I can't be captain..."

"You're too weak to be the captain, Luffy!" Ace says. "The captain is supposed to be the one who protects his crewmates and be who everyone relies on! How can you protect anyone if you're such a crybaby, huh?"

"It's not my fault I'm a crybaby, I'm still little!" Luffy says defensively.

"Ace and I didn't cry like that when we were your age!"

"That's because you had each other! I don't have any brothers to help me be strong!"

Ace and Sabo both flinch slightly at his words, faces overcome with guilty expressions that Shanks wonders at.

Ace crosses his arms, his eyes darting away from Luffy before he says his next words.

"Then we'll just have to be your brothers," he grumbles, a bright red flush spready across his cheeks and even to the tips of his ears.

* * *

About half an hour after the first of the Red Hair pirates had started trickling into her bar, Shanks and the boys still haven't returned and Makino is starting to get a bit worried.

"They're with the captain," Lucky Roo reassures her when he sees her eyes flick towards the door for the second time in as many minutes. "They'll be alright. 

Makino sighs. "I know," she says. "It's just..."

It's the first time Luffy has been out of her sight for any extended period of time since he had first been brought to Windmill Village, and even though Makino knows she can't keep her boy tied to her apron strings for the rest of his life, it's still impossible to not fret over his safety, especially when he's still not completely healed yet.

"It's part of being a parent," Yasopp says with a knowing grin, and Makino feels her face flush.

She's not Luffy's mother. 

She knows this.

But it still doesn't stop her worrying over him. He's her boy after all, at least in the privacy of her own heart.

"It's important for him to regain a sense of independence," Yasopp tells her gently when she doesn't say anything. "You don't want him to grow up afraid of the world around him, do you?"

"Of course not," Makino says. "And I know that nothing's going to hurt him here in Windmill village, especially with Shanks with him. But-"

She cuts herself off when she hears the sound of the door opening, and turns to see the captain himself finally walk through, with all three boys trailing after him.

The tension finally drains out of Makino's shoulders when she sees Luffy. He's clinging to Ace's back, giggling and bouncing in excitement, despite Sabo warning to calm down unless he wants to be dropped.

Both of the older boys are watching him with a kind of resigned fondness, so much softer than Makino has ever seen them.

"Makino-san!" Luffy calls as soon as he sees her, and his grin stretches even wider than before. "Guess what Makino-san! Ace and Sabo said they're going to be my big brothers! They promised they're not going to let me be alone ever again!"


	5. Chapter 5

"They seem close."

Makino tears her eyes away from the three children she had been watching oh so fondly, and meets the gaze of the pirate captain sitting on the other side of her bar. He's watching her with an expression that has nervous butterflies fluttering in her stomach and Makino has to immediately look away again, hoping she hasn't given herself away too much.

"Well," she says, "I suppose after going through something like what happened with Porchemy, anyone would get close."

Shanks' brows furrow in confusion.

"I was under the impression they were friends before that?" he says like a question.

Makino shakes her head. "Luffy doesn't talk much about his past, but from what I've been able to figure out, he used to live at Gray Terminal, the garbage heap outside the capital of Goa Kingdom. He'd only met Sabo and Ace a few times before the Porchemy incident."

"I see," says Shanks, eyebrows raised in surprise as he turns to watch the three children with a new understanding. "It takes a special kind of person, to look death in the eyes for someone they don't even really know."

Makino's smile takes on an edge of pride. "It does."

"I wonder what happened to his parents though," Shanks says. "A child doesn't get that well-spoken by growing up in a dump."

"I've tried asking about it a few times," Makino confides in him. "The thought that he might have parents out there who have no idea what's happened to their young child, that someone might actively be looking for him...I wouldn't wish that kind of experience on anyone. But every time I even mention his family, he immediately clams up and gets wary. I think...he may have been abused."

Shanks' eyes cut over to her, sharp and angry at even the suggestion of someone hurting the child who had somehow grown to be so dear to him.

"Well," he says. "I suppose it's good he's found such a loving caretaker in you then. It's no small commitment to have a child at so young an age, Makino. You should be proud of yourself."

Makino looks away, hiding a bashful smile.

"You're giving me too much credit, captain-san. Luffy has been perfectly lovely to have around; so very well-mannered and helpful. I couldn't have asked for a better child."

"Hn," says Benn from next to Shanks, where he's been listening to the conversation quietly until this point. "A little too well-mannered if you ask me. He could do with a little more selfishness."

"That's how you'll know you've earned his trust," Shanks says to Makino, his smile stretching wide and mischievous. "He'll be a little hell-raiser, if that spark in his eye is anything to go by. Perhaps those new brothers of his will be able to help in that respect."

"I'll look forward to that day," Makino tells him earnestly, meaning every word of it.

"Hey! Hey, Shanks!" an excited call cuts into their conversation, and a few seconds later, Luffy comes running over and crashes into Shanks' leg.

Shanks is worried for a moment that he's hurt himself, with the force of the collision, but then the brat sends an absolutely beaming grin up at him, and says, "Is it really, really true that you were on the pirate king's ship?"

Shanks blinks a couple of times, surprised. Ace and Sabo follow after their younger brother at a more sedate pace, watching Shanks with a renewed wariness that has him despairing. He had worked so hard to get them to relax a little around him in the short time he'd met them.

He turns his gaze in the direction they had come from, and sees Lucky Roo grinning back at him unapologetically.

"Shanks?" Luffy inquires again, bouncing excitedly on his feet.

"It's true," he confirms, reaching down to pick the kid up under his arms, and place him so that he's sitting on the bartop.

Luffy squeals excitedly and starts kicking his feet back and forth. "That's so _cool_!" he declares, waving his arms wildly. "Ne, did you know? I'm going to be the pirate king one day too!"

"Oh yeah?" asks Shanks, smiling delightedly at the rather hilarious thought of his tiny little anchor ruling the seas.

"Yeah!" Luffy declares, scrambling to his feet and raising his voice. "I'm going to become the pirate king because the pirate king is the freest person on the seas! No one's ever going to tell me how much I can eat or when I can sleep or what I can do ever again! And I'm gonna leave Goa Kingdom behind and never ever ever go back there again!"

A stunned silence follows his words, all the pirates in the room feeling anger burn in their hearts at the implications of their little one's words.

Shanks can hear the hitching of Ace and Sabo's breaths from next to him, the grinding of their teeth.

And in the end, Makino's the one that breaks the frigid tension that had descended upon them by giggling lightly and asking, "Oh Luffy. You know Windmill Village is part of Goa Kingdom too, right? Aren't you going to come and visit me sometimes?"

Luffy spins around to look at her with a loud gasp.

"You're a part of Goa Kingdom too, Makino-san?" he asks.

"Luffy, you idiot!" Ace calls up. "Everything on Dawn Island is a part of Goa!"

"No way!" Luffy says, his features drawn into dismay. "B-but! Makino-san and Ace and Sabo and everyone else in Windmill village are so nice! And the people in High Town are all so _mean_!"

"You can't judge all of the people in a nation based on the actions of a few, Luffy," Shanks tells him. 

"Yeah!" shouts Yasopp from across the room. "That would be the same as you saying that all pirates are bad because Bluejam's crew were bad. Don't tell me you hate our crew too?"

"Of course not!" Luffy yells, spinning around to frown in the older man's direction. "Shanks and everyone else are good pirates!"

Then, as if suddenly reminded of what had caused his declaration in the first place, Luffy's head snaps once more in Shanks' direction.

"You were on the pirate king's crew!" he says. "Can you tell me stories about him, Shanks? Please, please, please!"

"Sure thing," Shanks tells him, holding his arms in his direction. "But only if you get down from there. Seriously Luffy, you're gonna give this old man a heart attack running around like that."

Luffy giggles, not taking his concerns seriously, and instead falls into Shanks' arms.

As he does so, Ace and Sabo climb onto stools next to Shanks, looking up at him with wide, wondering eyes.

Ace looks interested, in that sulky way of his that Shanks is coming to realize is just his default expression, while Sabo is fidgeting nervously in his seat and refusing to look Shanks in the eye.

"How old are you anyways, old man?" asks Ace, his eyes narrowed in suspicion. "The pirate king died more than ten years ago. You don't _look_ old enough to have sailed with him."

"Aww, Ace, what a nice thing to say," Shanks says in a teasing voice. "Do I really look that young?"

When Ace scowls and refuses to answer, Shanks barks out a laugh. "Well, you're not too far off. I was maybe 15? 16? when the captain was executed."

"How did you get to be part of his crew at such a young age?" Sabo asks curiously.

"I lost my parents at a pretty young age and decided to make that everyone else's problem," Shanks explains with a goofy smile. "I was a little hellion who did whatever it took to get by, and on one fateful day, that entailed trying to pickpocket the pirate king. Not that I knew how famous he was when I first saw him, or else I'd never have even dreamed of trying to pull one over on him."

"And then?" asks Luffy, eyes wide with interested. "What did he do?"

"He took one look at me, and laughed himself silly," Shanks answers with a bright laugh. "I think, mainly, he was surprised to see I was just some dumbass kid who didn't know how in over my head I was and not just, like, some assassin sent by the marines or an enemy crew, or something. Ended up taking pity on me and treating me to lunch. So I did the only logical thing anyone does in that situation."

There's a snicker from Benn sitting next to him, and Makino raises an unimpressed eyebrow, clearly suspicious at his first mate's reaction to his claim.

"I stowed away on their ship, obviously."

There's a burst of startled laughter from Sabo when he says this, and Shanks turns to stare at him with wide eyes at the sudden flare of familiarity that tugs at his memories. He's still trying to figure out the source of it when Ace pulls his attention away by asking, "How long did it take for them to find you?"

"Maybe an hour, tops?" Shanks says with a laugh, waving away the strange feeling that had washed over him. "Definitely fast enough for them to turn around and take me back, if they really wanted to. But I guess captain Roger must've taken pity on me, because he ended up letting me stay onboard as their cabin boy."

"And he was okay with that?" asks Sabo. "Having such a young kid to look after on his ship? From the way the people in the Grey Terminal talk about him, I never thought he'd be the kind to have a soft spot for kids."

Shanks rolls his eyes heavenwards. "Don't put too much stock in the stories people tell about the captain," he says. "Most of them were never even on the same island as him, let alone met him. People make up all kinds of stories to justify hating you, once you become infamous enough. Even if you haven't don't anything to deserve it.

"The government wanted to kill him because he didn't cower in fear of them, but at the end of the day, all the captain really wanted was to live and let live, you know? Sure, he got into tussles with other pirates, but as much as he could, he tried never to involve innocent civilians in his fights."

He can feel Sabo's eyes watching him carefully, curiously, as he speaks. He seems to consider his next words carefully, as if contemplating if they were worth whatever reaction they might evoke.

"D-did..." he starts, then stops again, looking as if he's second guessing himself. "Did the pirate king ever get married?"

Shanks feels his eyebrows climb into his hairline, surprised at the completely unexpected question.

"Not as far as I'm aware," he answers truthfully, and watches as Sabo wilts with disappointment.

"Oh," he says, gaze cast to the floor.

And Shanks isn't sure what finally makes it click for him, but as he looks at Sabo's bowed head before him, at those close-cropped strawberry blonde curls, a memory tugs itself free in his mind, and he's stunned breathless at the sudden realization that washes over him.

And now that he knows what to look for, everything about this boy in front of him is so _painfully_ familiar, it makes his eyes burn with the threat of oncoming tears.

He thinks of Sabo's laughter earlier, bright and wild and free.

He thinks of those warm brown eyes, a beautiful copper that positively shine with an inner warmth.

He thinks about the freckles dusted across his cheeks like cinnamon sugar.

And everywhere, he sees the hints of the two people he had loved the very most in this world.


	6. Chapter 6

Shanks stares at Sabo for a long time, reeling over the shock of his realization. The boy still has his gaze cast downwards, but from next to him, Ace is watching Shanks carefully through sharp eyes. His body is tense, ready to spring into action at a moment's notice if Shanks reacts badly, and Shanks realizes his reaction must have given him away.

Part of him wants to cry.

He wants to cry at the fact that Roger and Rouge had never had the chance to meet the son they had both loved from the moment he had been conceived.

He wants to cry that the baby he had spent so long worrying about and grieving for is in front of him, whole and healthy and alive.

He wants to cry at the telling way Ace discreetly puts himself between his brother and Shanks, a practiced movement that makes him wonder at the way Sabo had been treated by people who hated Roger in the past.

He wants to cry, but he doesn't.

Instead, he takes a deep breath, and in as casual a voice as he can muster, he says, "Captain never got married, because he was a pirate, and he never really cared for all the legal stuff. But there was a woman he loved more than anything else."

Sabo looks up at his words, eyes shining with hope.

"Y-yeah?" he asks, with the tiniest of grins. "What was she like?"

"Fierce," is the first word that comes to Shanks, and his lips pull into a fond smile. "And beautiful, and kind. She was the most amazing woman I've ever met, and the world was a better place with her in it."

Sabo's hesitant smile grows a little wider, shy and pleased. But then another thought seems to occur to him, and he retreats within himself once more, causing Shanks to wonder what he had done wrong.

"D-do you know where she is now?" Sabo asks hesitantly, not meeting Shanks' eyes, and _ah,_ that explains the sudden shift in mood.

"Last I heard, she passed away in childbirth," he says in a somber voice. "It's why my crew and I are in the East Blue, actually."

Sabo's head snaps up at his words, his eyes widening in shock as he asks, "W-what?"

Shanks nods in affirmation. "We went to the island she was last seen on, but she had passed away already, and we were told that her baby was taken away by someone to safety. So we've been looking for them."

"Why?" asks Sabo.

Shanks splutters out a laugh. "What do you mean, why?" he asks in a baffled voice. "That's my captain's child, you know? I want to make sure they're alright."

"But it's his fault she _died_!" Sabo yells, sounding genuinely upset.

"Sabo...he was a baby," Shanks tells him slowly. "He didn't do anything wrong just by being _born_."

"But if it wasn't for him, that amazing woman that you were just telling me about, the one who made the world a better place just by being alive, she would still be alive!" Sabo's voice is tight, his eyes shining with unshed tears.

"That's true, I suppose," Shanks concedes, and hates the way Sabo flinches as if his worst suspicions have been confirmed.

Ace turns a fierce, _betrayed_ glare on Shanks and opens his mouth to say something scathing, but Luffy grabs at his arm, startling him into silence long enough for Shanks to continue.

"She would also still be alive if she hadn't fallen in love with the Pirate King. She would be alive if she hadn't gotten pregnant. She would have been alive if she'd had an abortion. There's so many different ways things could have happened, Sabo, and you could drive yourself crazy thinking about them. But at the end of the day, it was her choice, wasn't it?" 

Sabo's looking at him through teary eyes now, and Shanks can't help the soft smile that crosses his face. 

"She loved you _so, so much,_ Sabo, and that's why she did what she did. That's why she fought for all those months to protect you in the only way she could."

Sabo hiccups, his eyes filling with tears, before throwing himself at Shanks, sobbing loudly.

Caught off guard, Shanks is just barely able to catch the boy in his arms in time, and out of a habit born of all the time he's spent with Luffy recently, he pulls Sabo easily into his lap.

Ace watches Shanks carefully for a few more seconds, his gaze still suspicious, before finally nodding in approval. (Shanks, for some reason, feels like he's passed some kind of test, and can't help but feel bemused at the relief that washes over him in that moment.) Ace then grabs Luffy by the hand and starts pulling him away, saying something about getting more adventure stories from Lucky Roo, and Shanks is grateful for the illusion of privacy.

The bar is packed with his crewmembers, but not a one of them are paying attention to the scene that is Shanks and Sabo.

"It's not your fault Rouge died, Sabo," Shanks reassures him in a voice just above a murmur, hugging the boy tight and tucking his head under his chin. "She was a grown woman who knew the consequences of her decisions, and she still decided to sacrifice herself so that you could have a chance to live. Do you think she would be happy to see you beating yourself up for something you had no choice in?"

Sabo hesitantly shakes his head no, still sobbing into Shanks' chest, and hugs him tighter.

"Don't you think she would want you to be happy? To live a life worthy of the sacrifice she made? Don't you want to make her proud?"

Sabo hesitates a moment longer this time, before finally nodding his head yes.

Shanks grins, and ruffles the child's hair.

"You seem to be doing a good job already," he says, watching Ace and Luffy fondly where the two of them are sat at a table with Lucky Roo and a couple of his other crewmates, who are trying their best to keep the kids distracted. "I was going to take you with me when I found you, you know."

"What?" demands Sabo, pulling away and looking at him in horror.

Shanks can't help but chuckle at the dismay he sees in the child's face, and says, "Don't worry, I'm not going to kidnap you away from your brothers. I just meant that if you were in a situation you weren't happy with, I was ready to take you with me on board my ship. Clearly, that won't be necessary."

Sabo shakes his head emphatically. "I'm happy here with Ace and Luffy!" he declares. And then, after a few moments of consideration, "But don't tell Luffy. Otherwise, he'll probably try and say that you should take all three of us with you."

Shanks grins softly, his gaze drifting once more towards the young boy in question. "That wouldn't be so bad," he says. "I know the rest of my crew already loves him. But no matter how much we tend to romanticize it, the life of a pirate isn't all fun and games. It would be better for him to grow up safely on this island."

Sabo sniffs and raises his gaze to look Shanks defiantly in the eyes.

"When we grow up, we're going to set out as captains of our own pirates crews. We're going to be stronger than you and your whole crew and we're going to find the One Piece!"

"Then I'll be waiting for you three in the Grand Line, you cheeky little brat," Shanks declares, ruffling Sabo's hair affectionately.

* * *

Over the next several months the Red Hair pirates go out on several small voyages around the East Blue, each time returning with more souvenirs and outlandish tales for the three boys that never fail to welcome them back upon their return to Dawn Island.

And each time they return, it gets just that little bit harder to keep turning down Luffy's constant pleas for them to take him and his brothers out on a voyage, _just this once? **Please** , Shanks? We promise to behave and not get in any trouble and-_

"Fine!" Shanks finally caves in one day, about eight months after he and his crew had first started using Dawn Island as their headquarters. Their business in the East Blue is almost over with, and within just a few more months, they're expecting to return to the hectic craziness of the Grand Line. 

In the months since he had first met Luffy and his brothers, the last of the child's injuries has finally finished healing, and he has the okay from the village doctor to run around to his heart's content (which he had been taking full advantage of). The more time Luffy had spent under the gentle care of Makino and the grudging adoration of his two older brothers, the more the shadows had been retreating from his eyes. It had been something of a delight for Shanks and the rest of his crew to return to Dawn Island after each journey and see the leaps and bounds Luffy had been making in his recovery (not just physical, but mental as well). As the months had gone by, he'd started acting more and more like a child his age should - brash and loud and energetic. He was still strangely polite, never forgetting his pleases and thank-yous, but he had long since stopped looking to Makino or Shanks for approval before every decision he made. He had started speaking his mind whenever he wanted to without fear of retribution.

Just thinking back to the scared, nervous little boy that Shanks had first met all those months ago, it's hard to even believe that they're the same person.

And maybe it's the knowledge that they're going to be leaving Dawn Island behind for good soon that's making him so sentimental, but Shanks finds himself wanting to give Luffy and his brothers at least one good trip with his crew. A memory to keep them company so that the loneliness isn't too devastating when Shanks and his crew are gone.

( ~~Something to make sure they don't forget Shanks.~~ )

It's to be a short journey, no more than a week or two away from their home with visits to the surrounding islands, most of which are either uninhabited, or which have smaller villages on them with little to no crime.

Makino frets worriedly about her boys when she hears that Shanks wants to take them on a voyage, but she doesn't attempt to keep them from going when Luffy stares up at her with those big, pleading eyes of his. He would listen to her, if she really didn't want him to go. 

Shanks knows this.

Sabo and Ace know this.

Makino knows this.

But perhaps her conversation Yasopp is still weighing on her mind, about letting Luffy gain a sense of independence so that he doesn't spend the rest of his life afraid of the world around him. She kneels down in front of her boy, and holds out a pinky.

"Promise you'll come back to me safe and sound?" she asks, and though she looks at Luffy as she says this, Shanks knows that the words are aimed mostly at him.

(The show of her trust in him is truly humbling. The fact that she would let him take Luffy away with them for two whole weeks, and trust him to keep her boy safe?

Shanks vows not to lose that trust, even if it kills him.)

Delighted, Luffy immediately hooks his pinky with hers, declaring loudly, "I promise!"

Makino grins back at him, before looking behind him at the two brothers flanking him, and she holds their gazes for a few seconds each, earning determined nods from the both of them.

"You two come back safe too, okay?" she asks.

Ace and Sabo both look somewhat surprised at her request, but are quick to agree.

And with Makino's blessing, the crew sets off the very next day, their three new little passengers running tirelessly around the ship, exploring every inch of it with excitement at leaving their home for the first time any of them remember.

All of the villagers, it seems, come out to see them off, calling out for them to stay safe, and if Shanks didn't know any better, he'd think they were leaving for years and years, instead of just two weeks.

Luffy grins and giggles at the villagers that had become his family over the last several months, waving at them for as long as he can see them.

Makino is there, standing at the front of the crowd and watching with a solemn expression. Her mouth is smiling happily, but her eyes show her worry at letting Luffy so far out of her sight for so long. Shanks, wanting to ease her worries, swoops in and scoops Luffy up into his arms, earning a squawk of surprise from the young boy. As soon as he sees who has him though, he calms down, and Shanks laughs and waves back at Makino.

"See you in two weeks!" 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys sorry for the long wait until this chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it though! Please do be sure to leave a comment below letting me know what you thought.


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